Pages

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Review of UNDER THE NEVER SKY with Signed Giveaway

Dang it. I let another week go by without posting. Well then.

I swear I won't keep being so lame. For now, enjoy the review. This is a book you don't want to miss. Also, be sure to enter to win a Signed Hardcover of UNDER THE NEVER SKY. Giveaway is at the bottom of the post.

P.S. Major congratulations goes out to TARYN ALBRIGHT! My newest agent sister, recently signed with Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst Literary Management. Congratulations, Taryn!! So happy to have you on Vickie's team. Taryn has the best agent signing story. Be sure to check it out here and wish her congratulations.

Goodreads Summary: Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

MY REVIEW:

I've always been able to read and love books of pretty much every genre. I'm lucky like that. But I have a special fondness for high action and thrillerish, yet thoughtful romantic stories. That's my favorite kind of story, though difficult to find. So I was beyond excited when I first heard about UNDER THE NEVER SKY. It felt tailor-made just for me. Which is exactly why I was so nervous to read it. (That, and I really like the author). I get so worked up to love a book sometimes that if it turns out to be not-so-hot the disappointment is often greater than if I'd had no expectations.

But I can tell you UNDER THE NEVER SKY more than met my expectations. The very first scene drops you into the middle of action and then pulls you into the story with characters that feel genuine and loveable, even when (or perhaps because) they're still so raw and uncomfortable in their new circumstances. You never stop rooting for them. And as they grow and discover themselves and each other, you sort of fall for them, cringing when they encounter difficult or scary situations--and there are many of them. But it's not just fear these characters (and thus, the readers) face. Rossi writes beautifully with such passion and emotional complexity readers will be drawn into the hearts and longings of the characters as much as the vivid, imaginative world she's created under the Never Sky.

Aria is a complex character who discovers more than just a world outside of the protected dome of Reverie. She discovers the person she can be when all pretense is stripped away. She discovers the ability to love and be loved, and the freedom and joy in losing control. With intense, at times lyrical language and rich imagery, Rossi reveals to us a savage sort of innocence in the brutal reality outside of the dome--essential truth that was once hidden within the artificial, corruptive conveniences of modernity. It's an interesting mix of contradictions you don't question so much as embrace as you begin to ask yourself who you might be if you were dispossessed of your own world.

Of course, there is the romance, too.

This is the point where I sigh and sigh and sigh. And fan myself a little.

Aria and Perry are a memorable couple with the kind of chemistry that sets the pages on fire. I'm not really the type to swoon over a hot young dude in a YA novel (hello, I'm old), but I fall like a sucker over a hot romance. But theirs isn't just a lusty thing, you know? Or even one of those love at first sight sort of stories. Just the opposite. Theirs is an organic pairing born out of hardship. They're forced to work together, fairly loathing one another, and somehow, by the end, it's like...yes yes yes.

Damn, I love that. UNDER THE NEVER SKY is a work of art that will inspire a range of emotions as well as thoughts. But above all, it will keep you reading until you whip through to the end, and then you'll likely curse Veronica Rossi a little for not having the sequel out already.

****************************

Want to win a signed hardcover of UNDER THE NEVER SKY? I've got one. And I'll share with you. It's easy to enter. Just click the tiny link below.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER TO WIN!!!!!!

This giveaway is international and ends Friday, March 2, 2012 midnight EST. You must be 13 years old to enter. If you win, you will need to provide an address for shipment. Under 18's must have parent/guardian permission to enter.

Thanks so much for entering!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED.Winner posted below.

*****************

Be sure to check out what the other Bookanistas are highlighting today!

I am a little embarrassed to admits it but I am a cover girl and this one is lovely. I find the cover makes me pick it up and the synopsis pulls me in and yep I want to read it. Thank you for your review and awesome giveaway opportunity. I would love to read Under the Never Sky :) I am right with you on knowing the author and then being afraid to read the book and I am so glad you enjoyed it.

Oh wow, this book sounds good! I'm the same way -- when I get really excited about a book and then am disappointed in it, it's the worse feeling in the world! (Well, maybe not the WORST, but you know what I mean.) This one sounds right up my alley, too. :)

I loved this book so much. I think what I really loved was how it incorporated the two worlds and two story lines. It wasn't just one dystopian/futuristic land but two oposite ways of life that we got to see through the eyes of someone familiar with the place and someone new to it, which I think made it extra interesting. Plus, I thought the romance was really believable, especially Perry's worries.

No entry for me because I've read it, but I just wanted to chime in with a hearty AMEN. I adored this book. Like you, I was a teensy bit nervous, because it's right up my alley and Veronica is an agency sister of mine and all round gorgeous person, so of course something seemed like it had to go wrong. But on the contrary, I raced through it, and then friend or not, I totally cursed her out for not having a sequel ready! I've been telling everyone I know to grab a copy.